Beijing : Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday ordered the military to “shoulder responsibility” to contain the coronavirus outbreak that has killed 132 people, infected 6,000 others with six foreigners contracting the disease for the first time in China and spread to 17 countries.
President Xi, who heads the People’s Liberation Army, told the military to keep their mission firmly in mind and shoulder responsibility to make contribution to winning the battle against the novel coronavirus, which he has described as a “demon”, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Already the military is pressing thousands of its medical personnel into Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak, to assist the doctors. Xi’s call to the military came as the number of confirmed cases of the rapidly spreading virus infection in mainland China reached 6,078 with 70 cases abroad, surpassing the cases witnessed during the SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak, which had caused havoc in China in 2002-03. Over 800 people, mostly in China, died during the SARS epidemic.
Meanwhile, foreign airlines began suspending flights to and from China on Wednesday as global fears mounted over a coronavirus epidemic. — Agencies
Oz to quarantine evacuees on island
Sydney: Australia plans to evacuate its citizens from the epicentre of the deadly virus outbreak in China and quarantine them on an island normally used to detain asylum seekers, according to proposals unveiled on Wednesday. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said “vulnerable” Australians, including children and the elderly, and short-term visitors to Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province would be prioritised in extraction efforts. AFP
240 brought back to US
Anchorage: An airplane evacuating as many as 240 Americans from a Chinese city at the center of a virus outbreak has landed in the US on Wednesday. The US government chartered the plane to fly out diplomats from the US Consulate in Wuhan. AP
Four Chinese players to miss football qualifiers
Beijing: The Chinese Football Association confirmed on Wednesday that four women players, including star striker Wang Shuang, will miss next week’s Tokyo Olympic women’s football qualifying matches in Sydney as they hail from the deadly coronavirus hit areas, official media here reported. (Agencies)
